Brassiere



Feb. 22, 1949. M. H. WITTENBERG 2,462,295

BRAS S 1ERE Filed Oct. 26, 1945 Y IN1/Imran. MARG/mfr H. W1 rre/wams v Patented Feb. 22, 1949 BRASSIERE Margaret n. Wittenberg, Miuburn, N. J., assignmto Jantzen Knitting Mills, New York, N. Y., a

corporation Application October 26, 1945, Serial No. 624,659

'I'he present invention relates to brassires.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a. brassire of the breast pocket type constructed to shape or mold the breasts into the shape of the pockets or cups, with separation of the breasts at the central part of the brassire between the cups, and at the same time to provide proper support for the breasts. Further in this connection, the primary object of the invention includes the provision of a brassire which is of such constructionthat the breast molding feature is not impaired by washings of the brassire.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view of the inner side of a brassire embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a pocket or cup forming portion of the brassire, in the flat form thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a side view of one of the breast pockets before it is assembled in the brassire with the companion breast pocket and the other parts of the brassire; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

p Referringr now to the drawings in detail, the

4 claims. (Ci. 2.-42)

brassire I0 illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises the breast pockets I2 of cup form and the side bands. I4 which as here shown are preferably provided with elastic tapes I6 having detachable companion fastener members I8 and 28. Also as here shown, the brassire includes the usual adjustable shoulder straps 22 which are secured to the upper tips of breast pockets I2, respectively, and to the companion side bands I4, respectively. The present invention is concerned more particularly with the construction of the breast pockets or cups I2 which will now be specifically described.

Each breast pocket or cup I2 comprises a fabric layer 24 which is preferably cut on the bias, as indicated by the cross hatching 25, to provide the cup with a desirable degree of stretch at the upper portion thereof. The shape of the fabric layer 24 in the iiat form thereof is illustrated in Fig. 2 and includes the inwardly converging lower edges 26 which when stitched together by the fashioning seam as indicated at 28 in Fig. 4 produce the fashioned cup form of the breast pocket. Layers 30 and 32 of woven thermoplastic fabric and companion lining layers 34 and 36 of thin flannel or other soft fabric are laminated to each other and to the fabric layer 24 by heat and pressure whereby the superposed layers of the laminated portions are firmly and permanently secured to each other in abutting surface-to-surface relation throughout their surface areas. Layers. 38 and 32 are suitably formed of fabric such as that or similar to the pliable stiffened fabric described in U. S. Patent No. 1,903,960. Said` layers 3li-and 32 are preferably of the same size and shape as the companion covering or lining layers 34 and 36, respectively.

It will be observed that when the converging edges 26 are stitched together to form the breast pocket of cup form from the flat material illustrated in Fig. 2 the laminated portions 38 and 40 are disposed at the central lower part of the form-fashioned breast pocket I2 with the edges 42 and 44 of the companion laminated portions close to. each other at the seam 28, the upper ends of said laminated portions 38 and 40 terminating near but somewhat below the upper end of the seam 28. Further, it will be observed that the upper edge portions of the laminated parts 38 and 40 are shaped Vso that they .are spaced laterally of the cup point 46 of the breast pocket. The laminated portions 48 and 50 extend along the bottom of the'breast pocket laterally thereof from the laminated portions 38 and 48 toward the outer side portion and central portion, rerspectivelyfof the brassire, and the laminated portions- 52 and 54 extend upwardly at the Lbuter and inner marginal edge portions, respectively, ofthe companion breast pocket I2. Portions 52 are disposed adjacent the companion side bands I4, i. e., at the outer marginal side edge portions of the pockets I2 and function to atten the natural curve of the adjacent portion of the breast whereby to mold the breast to the cup form of the breast pocket, while portions 54 which are positioned adjacent each other in the 5 brassire at the intermediate point thereof bethe appended claims.

tween the two breast pockets provide for separation of the breasts and also for the shaping thereof to the cup form of the breast pockets or cups I2.

'I'he lower laminated portions 48 and 50 and the upwardly extending central portions 38 and 40 provide support for the breasts and also contribute to the shaping and molding of the breast to the form of the breast pockets or cups i2. It will be understood also that laminated portions 48, 50 and 38 and 4II produce an uplift effect and that the stretchable or more yieldable portions 24 of the bias cu't fabric prevent flattening of the upper portions of the breasts. It also may be noted that the laminated portions of the breast pockets or cups are non-shrinkable so that the preshaped forms of the breast pockets are maintained without impairment due to washings of the brassire. As illustrated, a suitable binding strip ill may be provided at the seam between the adjacent edges of the breast pockets -I2 and likewise suitable binding strips 62 and 64 may be provided at the upper and lower edges, respectively of the brassire. Also binding strips y66 are provided at the seams between the pockets I2 and the side bands I4.

It will be understood that the laminated portions of the pockets impart a degree of stiffness to the corresponding portions of said pockets without, however, excessively modifying the pliability of said stiened portions. When the pockets are stitched together in the brassire, the lower laterally extending stiifened portions 50 are disposed with their inner ends adiacent each other near the central seam at strip SII, with a small space between said ends if desired, and the outer ends of laterally extending sti'ened portions 4l extend to the side vertical seams at the strips il. 'I'he central stiifened portion formed by portions 38 and 40 and thelateral vertically extending stiil'ened portions 52 and 54 extend upwardly from the lower stiifened portion 48, 5l of the breast pocket, said upwardly extending portions being in laterally spaced relation. 'I'hus the portions of the breast pocket above the upwardly central stiifened portion and between the laterally spaced stiifened portions are unstiifened and consist essentially of the fabric layer 24. It will be noted that, as here shown (Fig. 1), the laminated portions are additionally secured to each other by stitching at their peripheral edges therei around, i

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the latter may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated and described and that in the illustrated embodiment certain changes in the details of construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the underlying idea or principles of this invention within the scope of Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a brassire, a pair of breast pockets of fashioned cup form, each having a fashioning seam in the central lower part thereof and provided with a central laminated stinening portion extending vertically of the pocket along said seam and disposed substantially entirely below the apex of the cup form, said laminated stillening portion comprising separate pieces of thermoplastic woven fabric disposed adjacent to each other at opposite sides, respectively, of said seam, each of said pockets also having laminated vertiwith said first mentioned pieces, respectively at the lower edge portion of the cup, each portion of the cup form above the apex thereof and between said upwardly extending stiil'ened portions being more yieldable than said stiened portions.

2. In a brassire, a pair of breast pockets of fashioned cup form, each having a fashioning seam in the central lower part thereof and provided with a central laminated stiening portion extending vertically of the pocket along said seam, and disposed substantially entirely below the apex of the cup form, said laminated stiifen- .1118 portion comprising separate pieces of thermoplastic woven fabric disposed adjacentl to each other at opposite sides, respectively, of said seam, each of said pockets also having laminatedvertically extending portions spaced laterally from' said central laminated portion and positioned at the opposite lateral portions of the pocket, said last mentioned vertically extending portions including pieces of thermo-plastic material integral with said first mentioned pieces, respectively, at the lower edge portion of the cup, each portion of the cup form above the apex thereof and between said upwardly extending stiHened portions being more yieldable than said stiffened portions, the' one of said last mentioned vertically extending laminated portions of each cup form which is at the outer lateral portion of the companion cup extending upwardly beyond the apex of the cup form.

3. In a brassire, a pair of breast pockets of fashioned cup form each having a fashioning seam in the central lower part thereof and provided with a central laminated stii'fening portion extending vertically of the pocket along said seam, and disposed substantially entirely below the apex of the cup form, said laminated stiifening portion comprising separate pieces of thermoplastic woven fabric disposed adjacent to each other at opposite sides, respectively, of said seam, each of said pockets also having laminated vertically extending portions spaced-laterally from said central laminated portion and positioned at the opposite lateral portions of .the pocket, said last mentioned vertically extending portions including piecesof thermo-plastic material integral with said first mentioned pieces. respectively, at the lower edge portion of the cup, each portion of the cup form above the apex thereof and between said upwardly extending stiiiened portions being more yieldable than said stiifened portions, said last mentioned vertically extending laminated portions extending upwardly beyond the apex of the cup form.

4. In a brassire, a pair of breast pockets of fashioned cup form, each having a fashionlng seam in the central lower part thereof and provided with a central laminated stiifening portion extending vertically of the pocket along said seam, and disposed substantially entirely below the apex of the cup form, said laminated stillening portion comprising separate pieces of thermoplastic woven fabric disposed adjacent to each other at opposite sides, respectively, of said seam, each of said pockets also having laminated vertically extending portions spaced laterally from said central laminated portion and positioned at the opposite lateral portions of the pocket, said last mentioned vertically extending portions in- 2,469, s v oluding pieces of thermo-plastic material integral with said first mentioned pieces, respectively, at the lower edge portion of the cup, each portion of the cup form above the apex thereof and between said upwardly extending stiilened portions being 5 more yleldable than said stiened portions, said cup forms being attached to each other at the central vertical line of the brassire and one of said iastmentioned vertically extending portions of each cup form extending laterally to said cen- 10 tral line of the brassire.

MARGARET H. WI'I'I'ENBERG.

The following references are of record in the 15 ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number -Name Date 1,903,960 Dreyfus Apr. 18, 1923 2,039,821 McKeefrey May 5, 1936 2,045,871 Pilot June 30, 1936 2,180,111 Kapinas Nov. 14, 1939 2,191,545 Schneider Feb. 27, 1940 2,258,277 y Bullinger Oct. 7, 1941 2,267,595 McKeefrey Dec. 23, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 111,673 Australia Oct. 17, 1940 

